Hunter of Lost Rivers
by Call Me Bas
Summary: Due to fortunate or unfortunate circumstances, Haku has been left in the Hunter x Hunter world. Working this into his own benefit though Haku takes this opportunity to find a new river. But with the event of creating unexpected bonds with the humans it makes things much more difficult for Haku to leave them and continue on with his ultimate goal. Rated T for mild swearing.
1. Chapter 1: PromisesXareXBroken

Chapter 1: PromiseXareXBroken

Due to fortunate or unfortunate circumstances, Haku has been left in the Hunter x Hunter world. Working this into his own benefit though Haku takes this opportunity to find a new river. But with the event of creating unexpected bonds with the humans it makes things much more difficult for Haku to leave them and continue on with his ultimate goal. Rated T for mild swearing.

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Disclaimer: Haku belongs to Hayao Miyazaki and the original characters of HunterxHunter belong to Yoshihiro Togashi.

"Talking"

'Thoughts'

* * *

Wind ravaged at Haku's immobile body. At his current height of about 1000 meters above sea level, Haku's human form fell. With such high altitudes, anyone would think a person would be in danger with the lack of oxygen. But because of what he was and who he was, such conditions were harmless.

But of prior circumstances, Haku could actually do very little at the time. So at the time he called for a small self-evaluation of his physical state. Because of the damage his body had absorbed when he had accidentally interrupted that fight between those two mountain spirits, he was now completely reliant on gravity to return him to solid ground. He could not actually move his body much.

But while his vision was slightly blurry from the pain, he could still make out the lush greenery of trees that were settled far below himself. He was not oblivious to the fact that if he stayed this course then it would be his immediate death and he couldn't attain flight to stop his decent. But there was one idea Haku had that could allow him to avoid such a death, if he could spot what he was looking for in time. Almost loosing hope when he could not make out much below him with his poor vision as impartial seconds ticked away he was soon rewarded when it came into focus. But now came the hard part.

Barely managing in his weak state he powered a few weak spells to encourage the wind to push him in the direction of his target as he fell.

Rapidly approaching his target Haku closed his eyes so he could concentrate on sending out a link to the water below him. He was going to have to greatly rely on whatever water spirit lived in the lake he was about to trespass on. And he could only hope that it would be kind enough to take care of him. For while water spirits often showed kindness to other water spirits when they bor no ill will. All sprits were still particularly territorial towards their embodiment though so Haku would have to be careful.

But in the end the water took him in gently, even as he crashed into the water at the high speed he came in at. His momentum was gradually reduced upon entering until he came to a halt and he was able to calmly take in his new surroundings. He didn't mind that he was still upside-down because the water here, while murky, was actually very soothing.

But it was when Haku suddenly felt the presence, or rather, the lack of one. 'This lake, it has no embodiment attached to it?' It was as if it was just a very large puddle. To the water spirit, it just felt wrong. Terribly so, but at the same time, he could still feel a great depth of life within the body of water. Both of young and old histories. It was sight for sore eyes to the lost water spirit.

One possibility that Haku thought of was that the spirit that previously belonging to this lake was also 'lost' because of a sudden change in the land forcing the lake to move elsewhere. But then as he took in the feeling a bit more he could tell that the water had not once, since its birth, been attached to a spirit.

Pain shooting through his body suddenly brought him back into reality, and he decided to ponder on the circumstances of this lake later. He had more important matters that needed to be addressed.

Going back in time to the point that he felt most appropriate, he recalled the reasons for being beep within the mountain ranges in the southern regions of Japan. It had been soon after he had finished tying up all of his loose ends at the bath house before he set off to find any newly forming river that had yet to contribute a spirit. But trying to find such a rare occurrence would take years and Haku was acutely deprived of the attachment in which he once had so long ago. For a spirit to have no such connection for this long was nothing short of a slow and taxing torture.

At the time, the fastest way Haku could think of finding a new river was to go anywhere with well formed mountains. This was what positioned him in the direct crossfire between two mountain spirits that were having a violent dispute. But while their kind of attacks would not usually impair him to his current state of immobilization, Haku never noticed the presence of a third party. One of the mountain spirits had befriended a gypsy spirit.

Gypsy spirits were always very tricky and unpredictable in power. It was in the gypsy's combined attack with its mountain friend to gain the upper hand that the accident happened. All three of the spells from both sides had collided simultaneously and had ricocheted off in Haku's direction. It was something in the gypsy's attack had made the two mountains combined forces damage him much more than it should have. That even lead him to wake up to falling out of the sky and eventually left him to float around in the detached lake hoping that it would heal him. But so far nothing was happening and he did not want to have to stay there for long, so he sent out a subtle wave of his energy to the inhabitants of the unknown territory. He closed his eyes to rest his exhausted body hoping that whatever lived here would take care of him.

-Moments before-

Not far off from Haku's falling form within Vandeta Forest the apprentice of Morel McCrnathy, Knuckle Bine, was following what he thought was the trail of the Tuskathian Gold Monkey.

Approximately two weeks ago, Morel (Knuckles mentor) had given Knuckle a task to find this rare monkey and to figure out the type of habitat that it preferred. If Knuckle completed this task, Morel promised he would consider Knuckle ready to bring him up to the next level of his training. Being the eager to learn student he was, Knuckle readily accepted this task and set out to one of the few forests that was said to inhabit this creature.

So Knuckle followed the trail he had found. But this was not in fact the Tuskathian Gold Monkey but rather the Basetho Gold Monkey. Such a mistake in misinterpreting the prints between the two species was very common. Few, in fact, could actually tell the difference just by their prints alone. But as it was, Knuckle ended up following this trail.

Eventually he was lead into a part of the forest that had fewer trees to block his view of the sky. So it was by pure chance then, that whilst Knuckle was on pursuit he was momentarily distracted when he jumped to catch a baby Leaf Squirrel that had fallen from its nest. And while he climbed the tree to return it back home he caught a brief glimpse of something off in the distance falling towards the earth.

Knuckle wondered if this thing falling from the sky was a creature that had been defeated in an aerial battle of dominance between flying creatures. But because of Knuckle's extended beast knowledge, he could think of non in which they would even be flying at such a height that even lived in this region. That is unless a species was simply moving off to a different territory. But that in itself was such a rarity as it wasn't even of season so Knuckle highly doubted that to be the case.

Knuckle continued to watch the thing in the sky decent at an exceedingly rapid pace. He watched it as it shoot past a cluster of birds that became panicked by its sudden appearance. His natural curiosity as a beast hunter to uncover this abnormities had spiked instantly after being unable to recognize the falling creature. So Knuckle proceeded to sprint off in the direction that he predicted the creature would land.

Eyes never straying from the falling form, Knuckle easily maneuvered around the trees in his path. But Knuckle soon found something strange about the falling creature. As he came into closer proximity with the falling creature, he began to wonder why the outline of the creature was shaping out to be startlingly similar to that of a human's.

Unless…

Knuckles eyes widened significantly at his realization. Immediately he ran as fast as he could, even though he judged that it was useless and the person would surly reach the ground before Knuckle could make it.

When the hunter lost view of the person he finally caught up with his surroundings and exactly where they were taking him. He began to realize that it was possible that this falling person had landed in the lake that was located up ahead. He hoped beyond hope that this was so. Knuckle could finally see the clearing up ahead that had the lake centered in and gradually slowed to a halt a stared intently at the lake. THERE! He could see a few ripples still expanding out from the middle of the lake. Hope restored, Knuckle tore of his shirt and ran to the lake diving in the direction that the ripples were at… only to return running out moments later, panicking and screaming. "Let go! Let go!" Flailing his arms and legs about he desperately tried to get the meat-eating fish to release his flesh from their sharp-fanged teeth. "SHAA!" In the direction of the pond, Knuckle flung his limbs out with enough force to get the fish to let go and sail safely back into the lake. Slightly out of breath, Knuckle cursed his forgetfulness. "Fool! Of all lakes they just had to land in this one." What was he supposed to do now? "Shit!"

The lake Knuckle stood in front of was called the Oakibiki Lake, but was more commonly known as the Iron Lake. If one should ever take a drink from this lake they would taste a great deal of iron in it. The fish living in the waters survived solely off of the wild life that approached its water. If any living creature came to close to the water's edge the fish would jump at them and drag them into the water and turning the water red. So many creatures were consumed inside the lake that the water came to be consisted of 40% iron.

Knuckle wasn't an idiot though, animals were animals after all and they would shy away from any source of a threatening aura. 'There's still time.' Knuckle thought to himself. Looking at the lake, he realized that while there was some slight sign of blood appearing on the surface there was not a whole lot yet. So he concentrated and released a small portion of his Ren. He walked into the water until it was over his head, while still maintaining his Ren, and dove in the direction he assumed the person would be according to where the blood was coming from.

The sight that greats him was not one he was expecting though. The flesh eaters surrounding the body as they bit off from the person bit by bit was what he thought would be the situation he would have to deal with. But in this case the fish _were _surrounding the body, it was not in the same fashion. They didn't look like they were trying to nibbling even a little bit off of the person. What he did see though was the fish lazily circling the person as if it was their center of gravity and they were not all moving in the same direction. Thinking about it, to Knuckle, it almost looked as if the fish were trying to protect the person with the way they incased the person in a dome with their bodies. This was not their natural behavior and this fact bothered Knuckle greatly, but he could not dwell on that. He still had a person to save.

Moving forward, the beast hunter continued to let out his Ren, effectively making the fish near him scatter away. The closer her went to the more fish that surrounded the person left out of fear. Eventually all that was left was a boy - a boy that hadn't taken a breath air for a while now. Knuckle worked quickly. The stranger would be in danger if he was exposed to his nen for too long unprotected. Using one arm to hold the much smaller person and the other to help him swim Knuckle brought them to the surface. He gasped for the air when they made it to the surface and swam to the shore as quickly as he could being extra careful to keep his passenger above water.

As soon as Knuckle made it near the shore he cut off his Ren and sprinted back to shore before the flesh-eating fish could catch up to them.

Now finally back on dry land, he gently lowered the limp boy to the ground. When he looked back to the lake he could see a lot of the deadly fish jumping in and out of the water near the shoreline. "What's with these guys?" He asked himself.

He returned his gaze to the mysterious boy and notice that, surprisingly, the boy was still breathing. Then he became aware of the types of clothes the boy was wearing and how traditional looking they were. His garb was of a white kimono top with blue trousers and a purple sash holding it together. While still not fully understanding what was going on, Knuckle released a sigh of relief, happy at seeing the signs of the boy still being alive and sat back on his hunches just admiring the way the sun reflected off of the water. But then something wet and warm touched his fingers.. "Wha-…" Knuckle looked at the red liquid that had managed to reach him and looked at the source. The boy! It was coming from underneath him. Slightly panicking and internally kicking himself for forgetting the blood he had seen earlier, he managed not to roughhouse the boy. Knuckle brought him to his side so he could look at the boy's back. "Shit. This looks bad." He could see on the back of the boys Kimono was a large gash through the clothes and the marred flesh that surrounded it. The boy was covered in blood now and it was still freely flowing out.

It was the voice of Knuckle that finally managed to wake Haku. 'Why am I not in the water?' He wondered. But even at the scent of his own blood and the disoriented state he was in he could still tell that there was definitely another being near him. And if his nose wasn't mistaken, it was likely a human. But this fact did not matter, Haku needed to get back into the water if he was to heal properly. He needed to tell this human.

"Wa-er." He tried to say. It was ironic how, even being a river spirit, Haku was susceptible to having a parched throat.

"Ah! Hang in there! I'll find you a doctor, just don't die on me!" Knuckle cried out loudly making Haku's ears ring. He immediately set the boy back onto is back. "I think I passed some herbs over there I'll go ge-" Knuckle stopped when he felt the boy grab his pant leg weakly. He looked at the boy's face and saw that he was shaking his head.

"Ta-… wa-er." Haku tried a again.

Knuckles bent down closer to the boy to hear him better as he could barely hear what was said before. "What is it? What do you need?" Movement from the boys hand made him watch as it was raised up shakily. He did not move and continued to watch curiously as the hand went past his shoulders until the tips of the boy's fingers touched his forehead. Knuckle had to forcibly stop himself from jumping back as an array of images forcibly intruded into his mind. But he managed to calm his actions when he realized that the images were not threatening towards his own safety. So he sat there and took it in.

Knuckle saw a lake. The lake right behind him in fact. Oh! Now he could see the boy standing in front of the lake. 'What's going on? This is really strange.' Knuckle thought to himself. But he continued to watch these images that were playing in his head.

He began to see the boy walking forward, not stopping when he was knee deep in the water. The boy was continuing to walk into the lake and then suddenly the image was gone and the boy's hand collapsed to the ground.

"The water? You want to go back into the water?" Knuckle asked, slightly taken aback. At seeing the boy's nod, Knuckle's expression turned angry. "Go back?! Are you an idiot?! There are dangerous fish living in those waters! As soon as you even get close to it they'll take any pieces of you that they can!"

Haku continued to stare at Knuckle.

"Che-." Knuckle tisked, annoyed. "Fine! Just don't come whining to me when those things kill you." The hunter then gently lifted the boy up by his back careful not to touch the wound and slid his other arm under the the boy's knees. Then he carried the boy to the edge of the lake and as he expected, the fish were coming back. "You sure about this?" Knuckle asked.

Haku nodded.

"Ok then." Knuckle did not lower the boy into the water until it was up to his knees and at that point he was desperately trying to ignore the few that were nibbling at his toes and calves. But when he watched the fish's reactions to the presence of the boy in the water… he was frightened. The number of meat eating fish that suddenly began to swarmed around the boy was so great in number that it could be considered life threatening to even himself. Regreting his decision to go along with the boy, the beast hunter was just about to yank the boy out of the water when a current started to pull at the boy. With the shock of the current appearing out of nowhere, Knuckles was unable to react in time and the force of the pull took the boy out of his grasp. The fish, even the ones that were previously at his feet, followed the boy without hesitation. Knuckle stood there as the only thing he could do was watch and desperately hope that the boy would live through this. But then the boy vanished from the surface of the water and he couldn't see what was happening anymore. Which only made him panic even more.

At the heart of the lake, Haku willingly let the water and its inhabitants heal its body. A small smile graced his lips as he watched the fish swarm around his midsection and observed how they were taking turns to rub their sides up against his back where his wound was located. The beautiful fish that lived here were so kind. To care for a foreign spirit's well being to the extent of trying, themselves, to heal him and to also stay by his side for this long was not something he was used to. He held out his hand and waited for one to rest on it. The one that did looked like all the others with its yellow scales and red eyes. The water spirit decided to convey his gratitude through this fish and transferred his own vision of a sunset.

It has always been tradition for water spirits to show any appreciation towards their fish by transferring images to them. The image that was most commonly used, that all fish greatly enjoyed, was the simple sight of a sunset as it was something about it that always seemed to entrance them. So usually on any special occasion a water spirit would allow a vision of a sunset to their fish through thought projection or, if they were a river, to have there currents flow slower in the areas that the fish could see the sun set for themselves.

Haku waited patiently in the water's depths for the fish to finish using their scales healing properties and for the water to cease its generous supply of energy it was giving to Haku. He estimated that he had now spent about 15 minutes under the water and he could feel a majority of his strength had returned and felt it no longer necessary to stay under water. He was ready to address that human that he was with earlier. Then maybe he could see if that person had any information that would help him figure out why this lake felt so strange to him.

Floating in place and looking up to the surface of the water, Haku mildly admired how the sun rays seemingly danced across it. Through a gentle command, his body began to slowly rise until his face broke the surface. The fact that he had not breathed air in quite some time had no affect on him as he easily transitioned from breathing water to breathing in the air. Haku looked to the shore to see if the human was still there and was fortunate to find that he was. So with no real rush, Haku glided over in the direction the human was in - not bothering to stop the couple of fish that were following him and swarming about his person in a giddy manner.

Knuckle was playing with a family of foxes that had wandered up to him and wouldn't leave him alone. It wasn't his fault, one of the kits had a thorn in its paw and it would have been cruel just to leave it there! At least that was how Knuckle rationalized his current predicament.

But when he heard the waves lightly lapping against the shore line, his turned his attention to the water. His eyes immediately widened when they saw the silhouette of the boy approaching him. "So the kid still lives." Knuckle sighed and a little smile spreading across his face. Earlier while Knuckle was staring at the water waiting for the boy to resurface he thought about the power that the boy had previously displayed. He figured that because of how odd that skill was that the boy was a nen user. He remembered the sensation of the boys aura trickling into his head. But as Knuckle stood there thinking about this while staring at the water he realized that the boy had not surfaced for at least 5 minutes. He waited and waited but the amount of time it was taking mad it really hard to believe that the boy was still alive. But then he began to think that maybe the boy had other means of breathing with his nen ability. So he calmed himself down and decided to wait it out.

As the boy came out of the water, Knuckle removed the fox from its curled up position on his lap and stood up to greet the kid with an angry expression. "Hey kid! What's the matter with you?! You not only come falling into a place that isn't meant for humans but you also manage to land in one of its most dangerous locations! Are you a fool?!"

For a moment Haku only stared up at the strange man towering over him. He was pretty sure that the mountain range that he was on earlier didn't have any settlements nearby and certainty non that had people dressed the way this guy was. 'He looks like a member of the mafia from Okinawa.' - Haku wasn't completely oblivious to the on goings outside of the spirit world.

Haku watched to stranger as he turned a bit more serious before he continued talking. "So what was that nen ability you used before? Does it have anything to do with how you were able to stay under water for so long?"

'Nen? …What a strange word.' Haku thought. But he could ponder on the word later, he still had to figure out what was going on before anything else. 'Now I just need to figure out what would be the best way to go about this.'

While Haku continued to think about his options, Knuckle was slowly becoming irritated at the boy's lack of response and was completely unaware of the fact that he and the boy were _not_ on the same page. "Hey! Answer me!"

'While I know every body of water in Japan with a spirit attached to it by name asking about the name of this lake would probably be useless. I already know that this lake is not attached to one.'

"Are you even listening?!"

'Asking the name of this land would most likely not help me, I never bothered learning the names of the lands given by the humans… I know what I'll ask."

"Oi! Say something!"

"What is the closest ocean to our location?" Haku asked. 'This would be common knowledge for most humans, so he should be able to answer. And if he answers it with the name I think he will, then I shouldn't be too far from were I was originally.'

Knuckle blinked owlishly and his confusion was visibly obvious but Haku didn't understand the reason for it. It was a simple question after all. But he could be patient and wait for the strangely dressed man to eventually give out his answer.

"Closest ocean?… Why would you even ask something so ridiculous? How do you not know something like that?!"

"Oh, sorry. Do you not know what ocean it is either?" Haku asked completely honest.

"A- OF COURSE I DO!" The man pointed his finger at Haku accusingly. "What do you take me for, an idiot?!"

"…"

"…"

"Then could you please tell me."

"Oh. Yeah, well..." He rubbed the back of his head. "we're right on the coast near the North Orbic Ocean since the western border of the Asian continent is only about 30 kilometers West of here." Kuckle jabbed his thumb in the direction somewhere behind him.

At hearing the man's answer, Haku remained motionless. 'That is impossible. Did the man not understand my question?' It was also possible that the man had simply lied to him, but he didn't see the point in doing something like that.. So if the man was indeed telling the truth, then… 'He must truly be an idiot.'

"Do you have a map?" Haku asked after staring at the hunter for a while.

Knuckle had had a difficult time containing his irritation at the boys unresponsiveness. "Well, I don't have a real map but I do have one on my phone. Would that work?" He wasn't really sure where the boy was going with this and it seemed like he was only going at his own pace. So it was in Knuckles best interest to just go along with the boy for now and figure out things from there.

Haku had a vague idea what a 'phone' was, but it was only that it was something used to talk to someone far away. "Yes." But The man had mentioned a map so it was worth a try.

Knuckle took out his phone and set the screen to show the northern half of the world map before handing it off to Haku. "We are right about here." He said pointing to a region in the lower part of one of the bigger continents.

While Haku outward appearance was unchanged as he studied what was supposed to be a map, his inner self was in total chaos. 'This is wrong. This is very very wrong. This isn't it, this can't be it! This would just be impossible!' But if what he was seeing was indeed a real map... then... "Please, tell me. Is this a map of the world?" Haku's indigo bangs shadowed his eyes.

"Not really."

The spirit was instantly relieved, there was still hope that-

"That's just the top half."

Haku's eyes widened exponentially as panic and anxiety began to build up inside him. 'No. No. Nonononono. This can't happen.' Ripples appeared in the lake. Non of which were noticed by the Beast Hunter. 'Am I really this far from home? Wait... no... I have no home.' The ripples vanished. 'But now how am I supposed to keep my promise to her now?' He closed his eyes he pictured the smiling face of the girl. 'I'm sorry, I think I ended up breaking our promise…' "Chahiro."

"Hmm? did you say something?"

Haku handed the device back to the stranger. "Thankyou for your assistance." He said before walking past Knuckle towards the trees.

"Huh?! Where do you think you're going?! You're still ingur-… Oi! What happened to your back?!"

Because Haku hadn't showed his back to the hunter at all until now.

The only proof that the boy ever had that large gash on his back was the shredded remains of the back of Haku's kimono top. It was all torn up allowing a clear view of the boys unmarked back.

When Haku heard the man's question, he stopped and turned around. "It healed." He answered and then he turned away again and continue towards the woods.

Knuckle was surprised by the boy for the umpteenth time and while it was irritating, he couldn't help but be even more curious about him. There was just something about the boy that urged Knuckle's to follow after him. "Hey! Wait up!" Knuckle easily caught up with the boy and kept pace with him. "So what are you doing now?"

"I'm going to the ocean."

"What do you want to go there for? There aren't any boats near here."

Haku decided against telling this person about his other form and his own abilities that he had. "I have my ways."

"… So why are you leaving so early even though you just got here? Or at least so soon after healing."

"I need to find out more about this place."

"Really? Well if that's all there is to it then you can just ask me. I've been wandering theses woods for a while now and I know enough about this place to answer just about any question." Knuckle really did not want the boy to leave just yet. He had a feeling that if he did, then it was likely that he would never see him again and he really didn't want him to go without getting any answers from the boy.

"No, I mean information about this world."

World? Was this guy serious? "Well, I could tell you some stuff about that too." 'Did the kid loose his memory or something?' "why do you need to know about it anyway?"

"It appears I have been… misplaced." Was the best way Haku could describe his situation.

But… that wasn't the kind of answer Knuckle wanted to hear, it sounded too much like a riddle - he hatted riddles - and now he was just adding on more questions and less answers. "Where are you from then?" Knuckle hoped this would explain something, if he was from one of those isolated continents then that might explain a few things.

'Should I tell him?' While the guy did smell like a human, there was just something about him that told him that this man was very powerful. More powerful than even Haku. "I come from a place where others like me live." Haku knew that the man knew that Haku was avoiding the question again and it didn't look like he was going to push the issue - to which Haku was grateful.

"So what are you?"

Haku could see that this man was becoming agitated if the twitch in his eyebrow was any indication. He decided to quit his little game before Knuckle reached his limit. Haku was confident in his abilities to quickly escape but he still didn't want to chance it since the man was still noticeably stronger than himself. "Have you ever heard of spirits?"

The hunters impatience fizzled out at the seemingly random question that caught him off guard. "Spirits? Do you mean like ghosts and the undead or something?"

"Not exactly. More like the idea that other earthly things and creatures have souls like humans." Haku clarified hoping that he would at least have a general idea.

"Hmmm… I don't think I have ever heard of something like that, but there are still a lot of unknowns that haven't been discovered yet. So it could still be possible." Knuckle wondered why the boy brought it up. "So, are you a spirit or something?"

Haku took a few more moments to be sure if this was his best course of action. Learning about this world now would probably be best rather than searching for it blindly. It would be wise to exchange information now to receive reliable information in return and also so that he was on better terms with this human. "Yes."

"Wa~. Was that how you put those pictures in my head?"

"Yes, it is an ability available to most spirits but many hardly ever use it."

Knuckle was overjoyed. 'Finally! It feels like we're actually having a conversation now! Shit! …What did I want to ask him again?'

"What is this _nen_ you mentioned before?"

'I don't know if I should tell him about that, he might not be ready to know just yet.' Traditionally someone wouldn't learn about nen until after they passed the hunter exam. It would be dangerous otherwise if a lot of unqualified people knew about nen. But the thing Knuckle was mostly worried about was that if he were to tell the boy about it now, then the kid would probably go off to learn it on his own and he was still unsure about this kid. If he would abuse that kind of power or not. "I won't tell you about it now, but how about after you take the hunter exam?" Knuckle finally answered.

"Hunter exam?"

Knuckle blinked in surprise. "Oh. Right, you're not from around here." The Beast Hunter walked over to one of the near by trees and sat against it offering the boy to take a seat next to him. "I feel like we'll be here a while so we might as well relax. So before we get on with this, it'd probably be better if we knew each other's names." Knuckle jabbed his thumb at himself. "My name is Knuckle Bine, I'm a Beast Hunter."

"My full name is Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi."

"… Do you happen to have a nickname?" Knuckle sweat dropped.

Haku smiled. "Yes, Haku."

"Well, Haku, now that formalities are done with about your question. The hunter exam is a gathering of selected professional hunters that are assigned to test non hunters to see if they are worthy of becoming hunters them selves."

"What is a Hunter?"

"A Hunter is a…"

All through the day, Knuckle answered each of Haku's questions to the best of his ability. Occasionally stopping to gather a bit of food from the nearby plant life as Haku kindly requested Knuckle not to eat any of the fish from the lake since he was indebted to them. And every once in a while, Knuckle would have a question of his own concerning about how Haku arrived here and what other sort of things spirits were capable of. Of course the more sensitive subjects, Haku only gave him half answers or half truths. He only kept these secrets because of a hunch he had.

The next day, late into the morning, Knuckle and Haku both stood out on the cliffs overlooking the ocean. "Going off what I heard from my mentor, the exam should be starting within the next week or two." Knuckle turned to face the spirit. "Are you sure you want to be doing this so soon, you could always take it next year and hang around with me." For the few hours that Knuckle had spent with the boy, he was truly starting to like the kid. It was strange, he was almost tempted to follow the boy just a bit longer just so they could hang out some more. But Knuckle still had a task to complete and he wouldn't abandoning it until it was finished.

"I am sure. I feel it would be best to do this now rather then hold it off for later."

"Guess that makes sense." But then something occurred to Knuckle. "Say, Haku, are panning on going back to your home at all?"

Haku seemed to hesitate before he answered. "I have no real home. But I fear I will never be able to return there to keep a promise I made to an important person."

"Who?" Knuckle asked out of curiosity, he didn't think that such a simple thing would make Haku look the way he did now after he had said it.

With a melancholic gaze set on the horizon, Haku answered. "Someone I wish I could always protect and consider to by my sister."

'Seriously?! This guy!' Knuckle thought hysterically, unknowingly on the brink of tears.

Haku saw Knuckle turn away from him out of the corner of his eye.

'I can't take this anymore! Of all the time we've spent together he hasn't once showed so much emotion all at once! I feel like I just saw something I shouldn't have!" Knuckle clench his fists. "What a great brother he is! Don't worry Haku, I am sure your sister will be able to understand!' Knuckle turned back around facing Haku again. "It was out of your control!"

Haku could only blink. "Knuckle…" he said. "Your crying."

Knuckle looked puzzled for a moment before turning embarrassed and looked in the opposite direction again furiously wiping away his tears with the back of his sleeve. "S-Stupid! Wh-Who do you think I am?! Hunters don't cry! Th-There just, uh, you know…" Knuckle's posture suddenly turned confident, but he was still turned away. "I just got salt in my eyes! That's it! It's not like it's because of what you said or anything!"

"…"

"…"

"I think it would be best that I leave now." Haku said breaking the awkward silence that Knuckle had created.

But then a hand was suddenly all up in his face.

"Wait." Knuckle said sternly. "Give me your hand."

Haku did as instructed and Knuckle placed a piece of paper on his palm.

"If you ever get your hands on a phone, call this number and I'll try to answer."

"Thankyou Knuckle. If feel the only way to show my gratitude for all that you have done for me is to settle a bit of you curiosity by showing you my other form."

Knuckle had to take a step back in surprise as a milky-white substance seemed to cover the boy and elongate until defining features started to appear and turquoise hair formed along the back. Then when everything was settled, the boy no longer stood in front of him and in his place was a serpent-like dragon with horns on its head and two whiskers that gently wove from the ocean's light breeze.

"Whooaa~! Haku! That is some ability you have there!"

As a dragon, Haku looked Knuckle in the eye and bowed his head slightly. Then facing the ocean, he crouching low before taking off at break neck speed in the direction of the country in which Knuckle had previously told him the exam was taking place.

As Knuckle watched Haku continue to fly away, he suddenly realized something. "HEY! YOU DIDN'T SETTLE MY CURIOSITY. YOU JUST MADE IT WORSE!"

(: end :)

* * *

Haku's pretty mean for leaving Knuckle like that. He probably showed off like that on purpose! I can just imagine his smug little mug as he fly's away leaving Knuckle in the dust thinking he's all that. I bet he just looooves to torment people like that. But anyway, now Haku's off to the Hunter exam.

By the way if your confused about the time frame, don't be. It will be addressed in the next chapter.

This chapter ended up being over 6K. For future chapters it will be in the ball park of 5 and 7K. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. As the chapters come in please give me feedback if I'm doing this right or if it's too confusing. I was shooting towards not being too descriptive so I could leave the rest to the imagination on how characters might have looked or reacted but still be able to understand their personalities. Please go easy on me though I didn't have a Betta reader.

Please Call me Bas.


	2. Chapter 2: ExperiencingXtheXWorld

Chapter 2: ExperiencingXtheXWorld

* * *

Disclaimer: Haku belongs to Hayao Miyazaki and the original characters of HunterxHunter belong to Yoshihiro Togashi.

"Talking"

'Thoughts'

* * *

Three days.

That was how long Haku had been flying across the ocean. And although Haku wouldn't admit it out loud, he was beginning to feel a bit irked at how long it was taking him to reach the island Knuckle had called Rule-Sen. Originally, Haku assumed it would have only taken him a day or so to reach the island based on Knuckle's estimate on the distance.

But this? This was taking far to long. It was all Knuckle's fault! That man couldn't read a map even if it had a big arrow saying 'you are here' on it.

Oh well, he would just have to manage. He only hoped he could make it to land before he ran out of magic.

Later that evening Haku was flying through an extremely powerful set of hurricane storms. He had just passed his sixth cyclone when he spotted it. It started off as a mere speck off in the distance and it eventually grew to become a very large, magnificent-looking ship. Unfortunately with the rate the storm was damaging it at, it probably wasn't going to be lasting for much longer.

But because of Haku's unfortunate soft spot for humans he was compelled into helping this sorry group of sailors. He changed his course to the half shipwrecked Skiff.

It was almost funny how this was suddenly making him remember Chahiro when she was a little girl. Even thinking back on it now, Haku did not know why he had decided to prevent her from drowning. There had been plenty others who had drowned and died in his river and he never helped them. But it seemed that ever since that day, he could not help but want to protect these weaker creatures.

Haku easily came up with a plan to prevent any further casualties and dived into the ocean. His contact with the water made Haku feel an immediate power surge through his core. Wielding this borrowed power, Haku commanded a new current to be born and used his serpent body to guide it towards the ship. The current gradually grew stronger as it followed Haku until its power was great enough to turn into whole other cyclone if Haku had so desired.

~On the ship~

Most of the sailors had given up. They decided to except their fate and the captain was one of them. Taking after his old man he was very much a traditional man and knew it was in his duty for the captain to go down with his ship. With a heightened resolve the captain proudly took the helm and glared out at the ocean as if to say, '_give me your worst_.' Because of his decision, the captain became the first to realize that something was starting to pull at his ship. The wheel was suddenly pilling the boat to the left with incredible force. He tried to overpower it, but fighting against the ocean is nearly an impossible task.

Eventually the pull became to much for the captain and was thrown back against the back railing. He could only watch as the wheel spun uncontrollably and turned the ship further into the storm. Other sailors had also felt the lurch, some falling over because of the sudden additional speed. The few that were closest to their captain tried to help him grab onto the wheel again, but even together they were not strong enough. They were all beginning to realize that the ship was heading into even more dangerous waters and fell to the floor on their knees in defeat.

Being the captain of this ship, also meant being one of the more experienced sailors and he was just realizing where it was the ship was really going. He felt like such an idiot at not figuring it out sooner. Originally he had planed to do just this to survive the storm but knew they would never have made it there in time. But with this sudden added speed... it was possible.

The captain informed the rest of his crew and they soon began to see, off in the distance, a ray of sunlight beaming down onto the water like tears from heaven.

The eye! It was the eye of the storm! They were going to make it!

Some tears broke out among the sea goers as they cried out in joy. They cheered and screamed while tossing their hats into the air as the first piece of light touched the ship's bow.

They had made it to the eye of the storm. They were going to LIVE.

The celebration ended though when the boat suddenly began to rock violently and it didn't look like it was merely coming from the waves. There was another outcry from the sailors as they all panicked while tripping over each other.

Then there was a sound of something breaking through the surface of the water and a shadow passed over the deck.

"D-Dragon!" Someone screamed.

Everyone ran to the side of the ship trying to get a better view. But they all saw it. A serpent like dragon. But the dragon was rapidly flying away until you could only make out its white scales, long whiskers and turquoise mane.

The captain watched the dragon disappear into the storm. He smiled while removing his hat pressing it to his heart. "Thank you…Pearl Dragon."

~A few days later~

Haku could see land appearing off in the distance and he could only assume that this was supposed to be Rule-Sen. So to look less conspicuous, Haku shredded his dragon form to have his more human form take its place. He flew low so that it was less likely for someone to spot him and approached the forest part of land that was close to the port town.

The island's structure appeared to be consistent of mostly flat lands with plenty of beach space and palm trees. It would be the perfect spot for a beach resort.

Gracefully, Haku landed onto the warm sand of an empty beach with the nearby trees hovering just overhead. But Haku didn't have time to admire the elegant shore-line as the aftereffects of endless traveling for the past week was started to really affect him now. His whole body was beginning to shake uncontrollably and the was prickly numbness running down his spine.

'I need to find a lake or better yet a river, if they have one.'

Haku went straight into the forest wandering aimlessly and keeping an ear out for any sounds of water. Eventually, his hike lead him to a lightly graveled road. Opting on wether or not to take it Haku figured it would be best just to follow it and hope that it leads him to a town then he could ask someone for a map.

His slow pace made the walk extra long but he was rewarded with the sight of a single building at the end. By now the sun was beginning to set and he was glad he was able to make it to a civilization before night came. The building in front of him was rather large and resembled the old-styled Japanese lodges. A large tori gate was set up in front of the entrance with the words. "Oglay's Inn and Bath House" carved in at the top.

'A bath house? …How ironic, but it will suffice.' Haku thought. He walked forward and slid open the wooden door set in front.

"Welcome! Would you like to buy a room for the night or do you wish only to use the bath house. If you buy a room the Bath House will be free of charge!" A middle aged woman with a kindly face bowed to Haku in her traditional flowered kimono.

Reaching into his own simpler kimono Haku removed a small, black box. Taking off the lid he spread open the cloth that kept what was inside cushioned.

"How long of a stay will this get me?"

The woman cupped her hand and Haku dropped a pebble sized nugget of gold. "Eh…Eh! A-Are you sure you w-want to pay with this?!"

"Yes."

"Ehh… um… please wait a moment." The woman bowed before she left through a different sliding door that was set off to the side. Haku could hear someone yelling and the woman's quieter words trying to calm the other. Then it was quiet. The side door slowly opened and the woman returned with another much older and smaller woman behind her. The first woman let the older one pass her and Haku guessed this was the owner of this establishment.

The elderly woman immediately walked over to him at a surprising speed and the overbearing smile she presented him with caught him off guard.

"Oh-ho. My, what a handsome boy you are, please do tell me, do you happen to have a girlfriend yet? I have a granddaughter who is very lovely and-"

"Please excuse my interruption, but I wish to only stay here until the ship to the hunter exam arrives. Could you tell me when that might be?" Haku interrupted politely.

"Oh-ho. Taking that dreadful exam are you? Hmm… I believe the ship will arrive at East port in two days. At least that is what I heard from previous costumers. Oh-ho." The elderly woman said.

"Then I wish to buy out the Bath House until then. Will that be able to cover everything or do I need more?"

The other woman stepped forward. "U-Um, I d-don't think there is an option for tha-"

"Silence you fool!" The woman said angrily and then she turned to Haku happily again. "That will be fine dear. What you paid with will definitely be able to do just as you ask. Did you say you also wanted a room for your stay? We have an excellent selection, Oh-ho! Our finest room has a full view of our garden and-"

"That will be unnecessary." Haku said. "I only require the bath house and complete privacy."

"Oh-ho. Right this way then."

Haku fallowed the woman through a hallway stopping at the end.

"This is our Bath House. If you require anything from us there is a bell inside on the wall that you will only have to ring once and my daughter will be with you shortly." The old woman closed the door as soon as Haku stepped through.

The Bath House, all together, was quite plain. But that was how Haku liked it. Almost everything was stone and Haku was relieved to see that the Main tub was large enough to fit his dragon form and then some.

He removed his kimono, setting it into a basket before using their buckets of water to rinse off whatever sand, grime and salt was still on him.

Haku's first step into the tub water was an instant appeasement. It as nice and warm, he could not remember the last he had taken a bath were he could actually relax in it.

He barely registered that he had changed into his dragon form and curled in on himself while submerging his whole body into the water.

For two days Haku slept, building his strength back up to prepare for the exam as he was uncertain of the next time he would be able to sleep. Knuckle had actually warned him about.

"Take care dear! Good luck at the Hunter Exam! Be sure to return if you live oh-ho!"

Haku bowed slightly to the Inn owners. "Thank you for your service."

His strength fully restored Haku returned to stone covered path and followed it to town.

Once he made it in town he found the excessive number of people that were bustling about nonstop to be rather nostalgic to his days as Yubaba's apprentice. Haku slightly frowned, he certainty did not miss it. He slowed when he made it to the docks checking out every boat to find one that mentioned something about the Hunter Exam. He passed many stands along the way.

"Fresh fish! Just caught this morning!"

"Takoyaki! Get your Takoyaki here.!"

"We have beautiful umbrellas for the lovely ladies."

A group of men passed Haku.

"This exam's going to be a cinch! I trained nonstop for it!"

"You've got that right! Those other guys have nothing on us."

Haku stopped and turned looking at the laughing group of men walking in the other direction. 'They look like idiots, but it's my only lead.' So he followed them a few step behind.

The ship that they eventually came to was big. Haku paused to admire the handwork done on the big red Frigate.

"I call her Setting Sun. She's a beauty isn't she?" A voice spoke to the left of Haku.

Haku made no reply.

"So, I take it you're here for the Hunter's Exam too?"

"Yes and I would be correct to assume that this is the ship that takes people to the exam's location?" Haku turned around and looked up at the man standing next to him who was at least twice his size. The man had on a heavy black coat that made one think that he must be boiling in this kind of weather. An unruly mob of blond hair stuck out in unusual places that made it look like there was just a bundle of straw on top of his head. He also the tip of a fish bone hanging out of his mouth he was chewing on.

"That just so happens to be true." The man smirked at Haku. "And do you know what your getting yourself into kid?"

Haku walked passed the man, up the plank and onto the ship without another word.

"Heh. That little twerp. Ignoring your elders will get you put on their bad side." The man smirk did not let up as he walked up the plank as well.

On the ship there really wasn't much to see looking around and nobody there was of any interest to Haku.

"Alright! Raise up the sails! We're finally getting out of here!."

Several men who appeared to belong to this ship started running about. One rammed into his shoulder as they ran by him. "Get out of the way brat!" The sailor said.

'These humans are very rude, the least he could do is say sorry.' But Haku still stepped to the side so that the sailors could get on with their jobs. When he looked to the other hunter applicants he saw that they too were getting rammed into some of the sailors and some were even getting run over completely. They all got yelled at in a similar fashion to what Haku had previously received. Then he noticed one of them was not getting out of the way like the rest.

"You're the one bumping into to me! YOU BASTARD!" The guy swung a right hook at the sailor that had his back turned to him. But then the sailor disappeared. The guy who had tried to punch the sailor was falling forward from his momentum. "Wa-"

"You're going to want to be a lot faster than that for the exams." The sailor said to the man's right. Then he disappeared again when the applicant tried to punch him again. The sailor reappeared on the railing near the man. "If this is the best you can do, I would really be showing you mercy just by killing you now." He disappeared and the applicant felt a sharp object press up against his throat. "People die all the time in these exams after all."

"Eh. W-Wait. What are you doing. Y-You can't do this!" The man said desperately.

"Actually, he can." The guy chewing on the fish bone stepped in front of the applicant who still had a knife to his jugular. He looked absolutely serious as he continued. "I'm the captain of this ship and whatever I say goes. Kapeich!" The captain's face broke out into a huge grin. "So you're doing great Doran! Keep up the good work!"

"With pleasure captain."

The captain then addressed the rest of the applicants. "Listen here kids! For as long as you stay on this ship you are to listen to me. Here, I'm king and you're in my kingdom now! If you have a problem with that then by all means leave!" One of the sailors approached the captain carrying a wooden crate and the captain opened the lid and took out a water bottle. "Our water reserves are limited. So all you'll only get one water bottle. We should make it to Bokshen by sometime next week."

'I see… he's going to make us turn against each other.' It was a rather brilliant idea, Haku thought.

"But don't worry, you'll get rations too of course. Whatever you decide to do in the meantime is up to you." The captain then sauntered off after dropping the water bottle with the rest.

Haku watched the other examinees to gage their reactions. Some, he could tell, realized the same thing he did. It was likely that a few might even start targeting others early on to get more water for themselves.

The spirit boy for one was well aware of his frail like appearance and knew it made others believe he would be an easy target by assuming he wouldn't be able to defend himself and such. But he had an idea that would save him the trouble of dealing with that unnecessary hassle during the nights. Seeing as that was probably the time they would most likely try anything.

The man carrying the crate got to Haku and handed him a bottle then left for the next person.

Haku stared down at the bottle in his hand. '… How strange that I feel sympathetic towards this water.' He looked towards the sea, clenched teeth the only outward show of emotion. 'Now that I think about it, it's like I really am trapped.' Haku unscrewed the cap of his water bottle and emptied its contents into the ocean.

"Oi! If you're going to go and do something like that just give me your water!"

The spirit tossed the bottle aside and walked away. 'I'm tiered.'

"Hey! Don't ignore people talking to you!" The stranger aimed a punch at him but Haku stepped aside leaving a foot out and grabbed the man's arm to flip him over.

'I wonder if they'll serve us rice.'

Haku continued walking about the ship until he came to a secluded storage room in one of the lower decks. There he rested until a bell was rung to signal the give out of rations. Then returned with the meager meal of bread and cheese to eat in peace. That night though, Haku left again to return to the upper decks where only a few were still awake a milling about. But he didn't concern himself with them and immediately went over to the railing. Ignoring the few that cried out when he jumped over board Haku entered into the depths of the dark ocean. He didn't have to worry about keeping pace with the ship since they were anchored for the night but at least here he could have some real peace and quiet without the constant sounds of wood rubbing against wood and the obnoxious snoring on the ship to disturb him. And while it wasn't fresh water, as he could only sleep in fresh water, it still had a calming effect when being completely submerged in any body of water. So for the night, Haku stayed there, floating just beneath the surface watching the stars appear through the water's reflection.

The next day Haku was attacked several times by those that were already running low on water and thought that he still had some. In return for their assault Haku beat them unconscious and took theirs for his own. The same thing happened up until the fifth day and the captain presented the group with the option of quitting now and being locked in the cells located at the very bottom of the ship. If they did, they would receive just enough food and water to survive.

Two days into that following week only 5 examinees were left. Haku obviously of this group. The shoreline was just in sight and the five of them were ordered to stand before the captain.

"What a sorry lot we've got this year." The captain sighed and looked at the five annoyed by just there presence. "Well… usually were supposed to tell you were to go once you get off this ship… but I don't really feel like doing that. So I'll let your sorry asses figure it out on your own." He then walked back to his cabin muttering, "Kids these days. They need to figure out things for themselves otherwise they'll be getting lazy."

Haku joined the other applicants at the railing to get a better look at the approaching land. He could see off to the left a bit was a large port that was built on the rims around a large man-made gulf. It looked like this boat was heading in that direction.

When they got close enough Haku jumped the rest of the 20 yards to the edge of the cliff they were passing, not even bothering to look back towards the others who were waiting for the plank to be set up. He didn't really want to be stuck in that small crowed of idiots.

The clearing on top of the cliff that narrowed itself into a path that looked like it was veering towards the left down the path. Haku assumed that it lead towards the port town.

His assumptions were proven correct when he saw rooftops peeking out over the trees. The road turned from dirt into a layer of brick at the entrance of the village. But while the first appearances of the town were very friendly looking the townspeople looked anything but. Some gathered in groups and he could easily hear their conversations and how all were about him, non of which were anything nice while others were outright glaring at him. It was obvious these people didn't much like the company of an outsider and Haku's attire screamed 'stranger' to the rest of the folks. Haku still had to find his way to the exam sight though and unfortunately his best bet was to ask around.

He first started off with a couple sitting at a table in front of a café. At a glance they looked like the kind of people that would be the most cooperative but when they saw him deliberately walking towards them they stood up and left while making absolutely no eye contact.

The same thing happened with the second person he tried to talk to and same with the third. His fourth try led him to watching a man make obscene gestures with his hands as if to say they were mute, but then he heard the person whispering to another when he turned away. By Haku's 8th try he got the message that he would have to change his approach. So this time he went into a book store, that just happened to be close by, and pick out a novel at random. He took it to the counter where a clerk was sitting a reading a book. He waited patiently for the woman to give him her attention. Haku cleared his throat but she didn't even look him in the eye. "Excuse me." He tried.

She ignored him. (What a surprise)

But Haku continued anyway. "If you can tell me were I might find any information about the hunter exam I will gladly buy a book from your shop." Haku saw her finger twitch. He was on the right track. "Maybe I'll even buy a couple more..." When he still got no response he turned around leaving the book on the counter. "Oh well." He sighed. "Maybe that other book shop down the road can sell me some books." Haku walked to the exit.

"Wait!" The she called just as Haku was reaching for the door's handle. "Ah! I mean, … a-hem, would you like a bag with your purchases?"

"Only after you tell me what you know." Haku began to look through the books again as he waited for the cashier to begin explaining.

"Ah, well, I don't know about the Hunter's Exam but I have heard this particular rumor…"

Haku glanced at the cashier, silently prompting the man to continue.

"Some said that they've been seeing several different groups of travelers going into the Wild Swan but not coming back out. I'm afraid that's all I know that I can think of that might interest you." The woman smiled. "So about your payment."

"I'll take these other two along with the first book." Haku took out his pouch and removed some bills that he had previously exchanged for gold from the people at the in. "This should cover it. Where can I find this 'wild swan?'" He asked, storing the small books within the fold of his kimono.

"Oh! It's right on the edge of the west side of town."

Haku thanked the man and left. Outside of the bookstore Haku figured it would be harder to find this place with his shorter height and being surrounded by taller people. Swiftly jumping onto the top of the book store's he balanced himself at the edge of the tiles. 'If the sun sets the same way here then I should be going in this direction.' Going from rooftop to rooftop Haku made it to the west side of town and continuing to travel along the towns rim he tried to locate anything that could relate to a 'wild swan.' The building that he found looked very worn down though, but he could smell a lot of people inside. The building was definitely a tavern if the smell of beer and cigar smoke was anything to go by. A symbol of a fighting swan hung on a hinge above the entrance.

Then someone down below caught his eye. A man carrying a large wooden blow dart was walking directly into the tavern. He was definitely not a member of this community as he was receiving the same amount of distaste from the civilians as Haku had recived. 'Strange town.' But then again, these were strange people entering their village.

Instead of following the dark skinned man into the bar, Haku jumped over to the taverns roof and waited - wondering would happen next. Eventually there was the sound of a door opening coming from behind him. Haku looked behind him to see the same man with the blow dart exiting out a back door and walking along a thin, worn down path. 'That must be it.' Haku waited a few minutes before jumping on to the path as well. He didn't have to see the stranger up ahead to know he was going in the right direction because the man was still carrying that strong scent from the bar.

Following the man for what felt like hours Haku suffered from only minor boredom. But then suddenly the scent from the man was growing fainter at a surprising rate. Haku sped up to catch up with the man. He skid to a stop just before the drop of a cliff. He had come to a clearing that had a pit that was probably 5-7 kilometers in diameter and 40 meters deep. At the center was a plateau protruding straight out of the bottom of the pit directly in the center and resting on top of the plateau was a tall cement covered building with no windows except for an opening at the top with a wire going out of a window to the right deeper into the forest.

Haku easily spotted the man and turned his attention to watch what the man doing.

Standing atop a large, brown, 60 meter long centipede that looked to be petrified the dark skinned man leveled his blow dart with another centipede that was shooting up from the pit aiming for the man with the afro. The charging centipede suddenly froze in the middle of its charge and Haku could just make out the feathered pin that was stuck into its skin directly in the center of the bug's forehead. It had come from the man's blow dart. He watched as the man effortlessly jumped onto that centipede's elongated neck and ran down it and continued to shoot any other oncoming centipedes by doing the same to them making his own path to the plateau.

Haku found this new situation to be rather beneficial for him. Now he wouldn't have to show off his flying capabilities so soon into the exam and could cross the pit with the new path the afro man had provided. It wouldn't be that hard for him after all, it was just like stepping stones.

Haku made his first jump and was about to jump onto the next centipede when he suddenly felt the creature give way a bit under his feet and it was all the time he had to realized that whatever effect was supposed to be on these bugs was wearing off fast. He jumped away just as the centipede twisted around trying to bite off his legs and he didn't pause as he continued to leap from centipede to centipede as each newly revived bug jumped at the chance to get a piece of him.

It was easy for Haku to make it to the center without a scratch and turned his head to the man with the blow dart that he was now standing next to.

"I was beginning to wonder if I would ever come face to face with my hunter."

"I found no need to reveal myself to you. I thought it for the best to give other applicants their own space." Haku answered respectfully.

"Well I didn't sense any ill intent from you earlier so there's no problem."

The man then walked ahead into the building's entrance and Haku followed soon after.

Inside the building it was already filled with many different looking people. But for some reason everyone was just standing around and Haku wondered what it was they were waiting for. He decided to go on and ask one of the applicants. The first one that caught his attention was a short, round shaped man with a square nose.

"Excuse me, what is everyone standing around for?"

The short man turned to Haku eyed the boy with a curious gaze. "I've never seen you before. This is your first time taking the exam isn't it?" The man smiled at the end.

Haku remained silent.

"Well from what I've been hearing, there's a guide that's supposed to show up soon. They'll probably be the one to take us to the Hunter Exam. It's usually the same thing every year. If you can find the guide they'll either just tell you or take you to the first phase. You've probably also realized about the strange things they have you do in getting there. By the way, my name's Tonpa, this will be my 34th time taking the exam. So if you have any questions feel free to come to me and I will gladly help you any way I can."

There was something off about this man, of what though Haku was not sure. But free information was always useful, even if it turned out to be false in the end. "I shale keep that in mind. Are there different sections of the Hunter Exam?" Haku asked thinking about the 'first phase' Tonpa had mentioned.

"That's right, the Hunter Exam is usually separated into 4-to-5 phases. Each phase is constructed by an examiner that decides who passes and fails for their round. But I hear the last phase is almost always organized by the chairman of the Hunter's Committee." Tonpa supplied.

Haku gave Tonpa a small bow. "Thank you Tonpa." He turned to get away from Tonpa he didn't like the smell that was rubbing off of the man, it almost made him want to vomit. 'Does he ever bath?!'

"Hold up! Before you leave I think I should give you this to celebrate our new friendship." Tonpa handed Haku a granola bar. "I brought these with me in case of emergencies, but they have a special remedy in them that's great for replenishing any lost strength"

Haku took the offering and headed back towards the entrance. Passing by the man with the long wooden dart on the way.

"Don't go wondering too far kid, it should be starting soon." The man with the blow dart said.

Haku gave no indication that he had heard and continued outside. There he opened the wrapping around the food bar and tossed it into the pit. One of the centipedes jumped for it and easily swallowed it whole. He watched as it slit back to the bottom and crawl away. But then it suddenly started to spasm and a green fluid dribbled from its mouth and onto the ground. 'It would be best to keep my guard up during this exam.' A zipping sound caught his attention. He looked out towards were the cable line lead and saw something riding up it. It looked to be some sort of large cart. Haku went back inside and wait with the rest.

Soon a man came down the stairs while whistling horribly with no sort of rhythm. "Da~ang. There are more people waiting this time… Whatever… Those of you who want to get on to the Hunter Exam sight follow me.

Of course everyone followed, Haku stayed near the back. They all climbed up the staircase for 10 stories and gathered into the room Haku had seen earlier with the wide opening. All that the room had though was a single large hole in the wall where he saw the back of the cart he saw earlier poking through. "If you could enter through this door in an orderly fashion, that would be great." The guide said.

Everyone cramped within the cart's compartment and this left Haku squished between the humans and cart's glass windows. The guide jumped on top and the entire metal death trap lurched and the cart began to move along the wire. It took them up towards a mountain were the temperature dropped and snow was falling around them.

"Hey look! There's a lodge up ahead!"

Haku had to worm his way to where the voice came from in order to see it as well. After all it would be otherwise impossible to see past them with his height. At the front of the cart he could see the lodge. It was were their wire was leading them and as they got closer Haku could see even more people walking all about the large wooden lodge. There were some even going down the mountain on ski's and snow boards.

"Welcome to the Cozy Cozy Cozy Woods the ski resort." The guide said from above them.

"There's just one too many 'Cozys' in that name." Someone whispered next to Haku.

"This is where I drop you all off at. Now if everyone could be so kind as to listen closely to my last instructions… Once you are inside you need to head straight to the reception desk and tell them, 'We are here for our grandmother's 105th birthday party.' From there they will tell you where to go. It doesn't matter if you all go in at once or in separate groups or even by yourself." The cart came to a stop. "Alright this is the end of the line, everybody off!"

Haku and the rest shuffled off and went into the resort and followed the instructions of the guide. One examinee wearing a trench coat did the talking for everyone.

"This way please." The receptionist said and she led their group to some double doors. She stood to the side and gestured the group forward. "The rest of your party is right through here."

Going through the double doors led the group in to another small room. But then everyone figured out it was an elevator then the entire room shook from lowering them deeper into the mountain.

When the doors opened, they were greeted with the sight of a wide spaced cavern. Both the ceiling and floor were littered with thick 12ft tall spikes and many people were already roaming about. Most of the people seemed to blend together but there were a few that stuck out like sour thumbs for various reasons. But one thing they all had in common was the serous air they each had about them.

'So this is where the Hunter Exam's going to take place?' Haku could feel his heart beating a bit faster then usual and he couldn't control the twitch that had worked its way into the tips of his fingers. But he wasn't feeling even a little bit worried about it, it was strange. He had only ever felt this way when he had flown with Chahiro that one time.

(:end:)

I would like to thank you for reading this far and look forward to having you read my future chapters. I apologize for the grammar, I am still trying to figure out how to go about finding a beta reader that has an interest in this story.

I've also been figuring out what is the best amount of time I should have in-between the chapters but still having some leeway.

Please leave any thoughts you have on the story so far in the reviews and to please continue to follow my story.


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